Bro, yo, bro, BRO. Bro, remember that whole thing that we would do, where we, Bros, would pour thick, acrid, choking smoke all over people who happen to drive a Toyota Prius? Yeah, hilarious. Well it turns out OBUMMER's jackbooted thugs the EPA said we can't do that any more.

In case you've missed this weird bit of non-controversy over the past few weeks, it all began whenVocativfirst ran a story the other week about the phenomenon known as "rolling coal," or basically just driving an enormous pickup with a diesel engine with noxious black clouds of smoke blowing everywhere. It's not exactly new, but this time, the story's picked up a bit of a political flair.

Basically, it involves cretins of the world modifying their diesels to pump out noxious fumes, to purposefully throw smoke at Japanese cars in general, and Toyota Priuses in particular, because of xenophobia/general ignorance/idiocy.

This video, in particular, is titled "Lifted Ford Prius Repellent:"

Classy.

But, whatever. It's really the kind of immature crap that teenagers usually pull in some form or another that society has been putting up with for millenia.

But society Will Not Let This Stand Any More. Or rather, This Sort Of Thing Isn't Going To Stand Any More, Mostly Because It Should Not Have Stood In The First Place, It's Already Recognized As Pretty Stupid, It's Just That No One Is Enforcing The Law.

The fine folks at Talking Points Memo managed to get ahold of EPA spokesperson Liz Purchia to find out the legality of generally being an asshat, who simply pointed the relevant section of the EPA's website:

It is a violation of the [Clean Air Act] to manufacture, sell, or install a part for a motor vehicle that bypasses, defeats, or renders inoperative any emission control device. For example, computer software that alters diesel fuel injection timing is a defeat device. Defeat devices, which are often sold to enhance engine performance, work by disabling a vehicle's emission controls, causing air pollution. As a result of EPA enforcement, some of the largest manufacturers of defeat devices have agreed to pay penalties and stop the sale of defeat devices.

The CAA prohibits anyone from tampering with an emission control device on a motor vehicle by removing it or making it inoperable prior to or after the sale or delivery to the buyer. A vehicle's emission control system is designed to limit emissions of harmful pollutants from vehicles or engines. EPA works with manufacturers to ensure that they design their components with tamper-proofing, addresses trade groups to educate mechanics about the importance of maintaining the emission control systems, and prosecutes cases where significant or imminent harm is occurring.

So there you have it. Yes, it is illegal to modify your truck to make big, thick clouds of smoke pour out of it. No, Obama's UN shock troops will not come banging down your door to rip your stacks off. Yes, most of the enforcement actions tend to happen on the manufacturer end.